Fonseca satisfied as side navigates its way through

The 1-1 draw at the Ghelamco Arena - Justin Kluivert with the goal for the Giallorossi - saw Roma progress 2-1 on aggregate.

Friday's draw for the last-16 of the competition gets underway at 13:00 CET.

You're through to the next round after getting the result you needed at a tough ground. Are you happy?

“Yes, we've achieved our first target, which was to advance to the next round. It was a difficult game, though, on a heavy pitch against a team playing a long-ball game that forced us to drop back. It wasn't easy but the lads showed the right attitude – they stuck together and defended well.”

Did you expect your team to be more compact as a unit?

“Yes, especially in the first half. It was harder to play on the counter too. Unfortunately we misplaced lots of passes after regaining possession. We can definitely do better with the ability we have here.”

Were your players a bit scared to play the ball in the second half?

“The players knew it was a delicate phase of the game. It wasn't easy to stay compact even when we had the ball but we're certainly capable of keeping it better. The lads did well defensively in the second half, though; in the first half we left too many gaps. It's really hard to play against a team that always hits it long to the wings, and the pitch was very heavy so we couldn't play at the pace we wanted to today.”

Jordan Veretout played much more on the right this evening. Is that something you're working on for the future?

“It's important to have three players building play when our opponents play with two strikers. We've done that in some games with [Bryan] Cristante coming between the two centre-backs. Against Lecce we had Jordan on the right and it was the same today. By building with three men, the full-back has more freedom to get forward. It also means the central midfielder and the two defenders are ready to mark up if we lose the ball.”

With Veretout suspended, will Amadou Diawara be available for the first leg of the last 16?

“It's hard to say whether he'll be ready. We'll see.”

Do you think this team is suited to your type of football? How much do you need to improve before the last 16?

“Gent are a good side and they showed that in the two games we played against them. They haven't lost a home match in Europe in the last three years and this season they're unbeaten at home in the league too. They're a very difficult team to play against, very physical. We need to improve constantly as there's always room for improvement. Of course with the various injuries we've had it hasn't been easy to find stability. Diawara was one of our best players when he got injured. [Nicolo] Zaniolo was too, to name just the last two. It's hard to obtain stability when you have to change important players all the time. If we get that stability, we can become even better.”

How important will Henrikh Mkhitaryan be in the latter part of the season, now that he's back from injury?

“Players like him are always important because they have so much experience, but I could mention others. No one doubts that [Javier] Pastore is a fantastic player but he hasn't been able to show it here. He could be a key player in any team and we could be a better side with him. [Diego] Perotti has spent a long spell on the sidelines and he's important for this team. Getting back to Miki: yes, he is important because right now we need experience in this team.”

What's Mkhitaryan's best position?

“His best position is playing in the hole, but the way we play our wingers come inside a lot so even when he starts wide he still operates in a similar area of the pitch.”

Why are you playing Cagliari on Sunday and not Monday given that you're involved in the Europa League on Thursday?

“I don't understand it. I guess it's for TV reasons and we don't have the power to change it. It's hard for the players to recover by Sunday after playing on such a heavy pitch as we did tonight. We don't have much time, especially with the travelling in between. I don't understand why the teams playing in the Europa League can't play on Monday - it would be better for everyone. It's crazy. They're players, not machines, and it's not easy for them.”